A Good Day To Die Hard (rated 12A)
As my hubs, and no doubt any man on the planet, will tell you, Die Hard is the best action movie ever made. Offering the perfect mix of action sequences, an 'every man' kind of hero and a brilliant baddie (Alan Rickman, the legend, is fantastic in this role), the Die Hard saga has now reached it's fifth installment, with a sixth already in the pipeline.
A Good Day To Die Hard is certainly just another excuse to rake in the box office takings based on the kudos of the first three films. After all, audiences still want to see Bruce Willis blow up bad guys and wait with baited breath to hear the infamous phrase 'yippee ki yay mother f*****!'.
So, what's good about the film? It's fast-paced with big budget explosions and adrenaline fueled car races. There's no shortage of cheesy one liners either and seeing Bruce in action is always entertaining in my option.
What's bad about it? The story, whilst easy to follow, is weak and you really couldn't care less about the underlying story. John McClane's son is also rather unsympathetic and wooden to watch and the lack of 'pause' between the action makes you feel quite exhausted by the end of the film.
To Become Mum verdict: your other half is sure to enjoy this but if he's a true Die Hard fan, he'll probably be disappointed. You, meanwhile, will find it easy to follow and you may like the sight of John McClane's son. Easy, throw-away watching for the weekend. 2/5.
Snow White and the Huntsman (rated 12)
I love fairy tales and so was looking forward to seeing this film. Plus it has Chris Hemsworth, of
The basic story everyone knows - Snow White has a wicked stepmother who's incredibly vain and dispises Snow for her pure beauty and innocent nature. This is the centre of the film, with Charlize stopping at nothing to keep her youthful looks at the same time as exacting revenge on every man for the hurt that one caused her long ago.
Hemsworth is the huntsman, funnily enough, instructed to capture Snow when she escapes and you can guess where this goes.
What's good about the film? Charlize indeed plays a good villain and the special effects used to demonstrate her powers are very creative. The arrival of the seven dwarfs is fun and proves to be a highlight of the film.
What's bad about the film? Kristen 'woo-is-me' Stewart is as dead-pan as ever and it's hard to sympathize with her when she has no emotional range. Chris tries a Scottish accent (at least that's what I think he was aiming for) and fails. The love story is shoe-horned in. The ending is too abrupt.
To Become Mum verdict: worth a watch for the villain alone but overall, it feels too long and there's just no real connection with the characters. Perhaps I expected too much? With a second film planned, this film obviously has its fans. 2/5.
Great reviews. I've seen both of these films and I whole heartedly agree with you.
ReplyDeleteThe newest Die Hard movie was pants. Too many explodey scenes with awful one liners from Willis.
I loved Theron in SWATH. The storyline of the film was pretty awful, but the special effects and her acting were superb.
I'm with you on the one liners from Willis! It just felt forced like it was the only way they could make it appear like a Die Hard film. And yes, the effects in SWATH were the best part, worth seeing for that alone.
DeleteHopefully I can pick some better films next week to review!